When Huo Zuo woke up, he felt that his right hand was a little numb. He scrambled himself to his feet, looking up at the heavy curtains. The charcoal fire in the house had burned out, and the remaining heat was barely warming the house. The cigarette candle on the bedside table had long since burned out, and the dripping white wax slid down the candlestick and condensed on it.

He pulled the bell next to the bed, lit a cigarette against the head of the bed, and rubbed the corner of his forehead, which was still faintly painful. The servant soon entered the house with the washbasin, and the others put the clothes he was going to wear beside them. Ziyue beside You Yiman stood outside the small door with her hands down and reported respectfully: "Sir, Mommy asked me to remind you." You have a ball at 2 p.m. this afternoon at the Marien's Garden. ”

Huo Zuo was a little impatient when he glanced at the suit coat he brought, and he could only say one sentence when he heard the words: "...... Okay, thank you mommy for the reminder. ”

"Breakfast was prepared for you. Do you use it in your room or go downstairs? ”

"Let's bring it to the room."

"Okay."

Dismissed the other redundant servants, Huo Zuo tied his tie himself, and inserted the handkerchief You Yiman had picked for him into the pocket of his suit jacket. The headache didn't get much relief after breakfast. In fact, this is not the first time, and most of the people who wake up the next day after smoking a cigarette will feel a little uncomfortable, but every time I want to smoke, I forget about it.

He knew how weak he would be when he got into that state, how much he felt spurned. But he only wanted this short cowardice of the night. Rather than being seen and used by others, it is better to let yourself cut open the hematoma with your own hands. He didn't need to let the third person know that he still had such a humble and incompetent side, and that weaknesses should not be left on top of his external image. It is enough for others to be afraid of him, to be afraid. Others can hate him and fear him, but he will never allow others to pity him.

That's the bottom line.

Even at some moments, Huo Zuo himself didn't understand the use of these bottom lines he adhered to.

It was close to noon when Huo Zuo got up. After packing up a bit, we drove to Maria's Garden, where today's ball was held. The initiator of the ball was Qiu Yu, the son of Qiu Zhiming, vice chairman of the Central Political Committee.

On the one hand, Vice President Qiu was to pick up the dust for his son, who had just returned from studying in New York, and on the other hand, it was also to introduce his children to others under the current political situation, hoping that he could have more contacts with these high-class figures in Shanghai, and it would be convenient for him to carry out further work after taking on important responsibilities in the Nationalist [Harmony] Mansion.

When Huo Zuo arrived at the scene, the time card was just right. There weren't many guests, but there were a lot of important tasks. He was familiar with old friends in the business field, talked about Commander-in-Chief Chiang, and praised him a few words. Most of the people in the Politburo of the Central Committee were also acquainted with Huo Zuo, and during the "April 12" incident last year, he and Ma Weisan provided many conveniences for the Kuomintang's actions. The Red and Green Gangs played a great role in suppressing the workers' armed movement. It can be said that the "April 12" action was a great success in Shanghai, and the help of Huo Zuo, Ma Weisan, and others played a very big role.

But this is not worth boasting about. In fact, he initially did not agree with Ma Weisan's use of the Red and Green Gang to suppress the workers' strike by force. He said: "What I have is a copper coin, if the Politburo wants it, then Huo is duty-bound." But I still can't do this kind of hurtful and direct shooting at innocent people. ”

"Then what kind of good person are you, Huo Zuo?" Ma Weisan was so talkative at that time that he lobbied Huo Zuo for a whole month, and in the end, both of them took a step back, but they just sent people to break up the procession, arrest the mastermind, and leave the rest to the Politburo. Ma Weisan saw this matter very clearly, and he also bluntly told Huo Zuo: "If you participate in politics and don't rush to the stage yourself, then others will always treat you as a hooligan." Now the people in the Politburo have a request for us, and only by doing this and doing it well can we grab a place in politics in the future. ”

He said that people's status is piled up by blood, don't you already understand this truth, brother?

Of course, Huo Zuo didn't understand, but he didn't forget to remind Ma Weisan: "We made a fortune by killing people to get more goods, smuggling guns, and selling tobacco paste. If others hate us but don't drive them to death, no one will resist us. Now you have to cooperate with the people in the Politburo, in their eyes we are hooligans for a day, and we may not be able to turn over in a lifetime. ”

Ma Weisan asked him: "Then give you a chance to turn over, do you turn over?" ”

If you don't turn it, you die.

Flip?

Anyway, the blood on his hands is drenched and the accumulated grievances and debts are enough, and if one dies, one will die, and a group will die. Revolutionaries know that in order to make a revolution, we must first shed blood. Otherwise, how can it be called a "revolution"? Someone's life must be fired first.

Flip over.

Of course, Huo Zuo would choose the latter.

In April last year, the "China Communist Advancement Association" was established under the leadership of Ma Weisan, and Huo Zuo led and directed many anti-bandit operations and arrested no less than 100 members of the Communist Party and the Trade Union who were recorded. At that time, Ma Weisan provided a large amount of information to the Politburo by means of bloody looting, malicious interrogation, etc., and deceived and killed Zhang Yongan, the leader of the labor movement, in the Grand Hotel on Gordon Road.

Now that almost a year has passed since this incident, Huo Zuo knows very well what kind of role he has played in this matter. Although he ranked after Ma Weisan under the pseudonym Mr. Wang, there were only a lot more people who wanted to harm him and want to kill him. He also felt a little glad that when they met yesterday, Shen Yigong temporarily suppressed the killing intent. Maybe the young man doesn't know what he's doing, maybe he has doubts about himself, but those doubts haven't yet been formed.

Huo Zuo asked Shen Yigong to protect Xu Ruonong, not to atone for his sins. He knew that his sins were unforgivable, so he never made senseless self-consolation in this regard.

He's just trying to find out what the so-called justice should be?

Where is the bottom line that Shen Yigong said.

On the other side, Xu Ruonong asked the old woman to make a cup of hot tea for Shen Yigong.

The two of them sat facing each other in the study, and Shen Yigong still looked a little restrained. Sitting across from him was Xu Ruonong, a Communist Party member who had been leading the workers' movement in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The man still looked young, with a dark green pullover sweater pressed against a velvet plaid shirt underneath. It looks like my hair hasn't been taken care of for some time, and my bangs are almost covering my eyes. But the tone in which he spoke was still very concise, completely different from his slightly scruffy appearance.

Xu Ruonong briefly talked to Shen Yigong about his mission in Shanghai and the current political situation.

"There are a lot of people who want to kill me." "But for now, the place that Mr. Huo provided me with is still safe and credible." I need to get all the documents together by May to make sure that I can go to the Soviet Union and attend the conference. ”

Xu Ruonong briefly pointed to the books and materials around him. Shen Yigong listened carefully to him like a child and arranged the next work.

"In the coming period, I will continue to conduct work surveys around Shanghai. Your mission is to keep me safe while I'm away from this house. ”

"All weather, Mr. Xu?"

"I'll get in touch with you. Did Mr. Huo give you a call? ”

"Yes, I got it. Is this your phone? ”

"No, this call is for you. Memorize that number and burn it. This public telephone is at No. 1372 Wangjiang Road, and if I hadn't assigned work to you the day before, then I would like to ask you to go there on time at 9 o'clock in the morning the next day. Someone will tell you the exact time and address. ”

"I see."

After Xu Ruonong said this, he put down the cup and stood up. Shen Yigong also hurriedly stood up. The other party smiled and waved his hand at him: "Don't be so nervous and restrained." By the way, you are not very old - I am not doubting Mr. Huo's ability to pick people, but you look really too young. ”

"I'm a horse, Mr. Xu."

"That's a coincidence, I'm just three years older than you."

Shen Yigong scratched his head, and he didn't know what to say, so he said, "You are also very young." ”

Xu Ruonong walked back to his desk and put his glasses back on, he didn't seem to want to snub his guests, so he casually accosted: "By the way, if I'm not mistaken, Mr. Huo seems to be a horse?" ”

A hint of hesitation flashed in Shen Yigong's eyes, and then he nodded: "Hmm." ”

"Are you the same age?"

Facing Xu Ruonong's doubts, Shen Yigong shook his head, he pursed his lips, and remembered the face of the person he had only seen yesterday in his mind: "No, Mr. Huo...... Just one round older than me. ”

The man behind the desk sighed, "He doesn't tell that he's a full twelve years older than you." ”

In fact, most of the time, Shen Yigong didn't feel that the other party was a round bigger than him. Since he talked about Huo Zuo, the young man also asked his confusion: "Then again, Mr. Xu - how did you know Mr. Huo?" ”

He was curious about it. Under this curiosity, there is even some kind of strange expectation. I hope that the person is not as evil as he thinks, and I hope that the other party is gradually getting better, at least he will no longer kill innocents indiscriminately.

And Xu Ruonong's next sentence turned his expectations into powder again.

He said: "Mr. Huo lost his hand last year and killed many of my colleagues who worked together. I survived because I helped him restore a photo. Now that I have returned to Shanghai for work, there is a lot of local crisis, and the only person I can think of asking for help is him. ”

Shen Yigong's face stiffened with a smile.

"Skinning the tiger, huh?" Xu Ruonong raised his head and gave Shen Yigong a helpless smile, "But I really didn't expect that he would really be able to find someone around him who has nothing to do with his life and has a completely different style from him to protect me." ”